Single hook bomb rack



Feb. 1970 M.J. WENGER SINGLE HOOK BOMB RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 16, 1968 INVENTOR. MAURICE J. WENGER Feb. 10, 1970 M. J. WENGER V 3,494,243

SINGLE HOOK BOMB RACK Filed Sept. 16, 1968 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 s LL nrronars 3,494,248 SINGLE HOOK BOMB RACK Maurice J. Wenger, Philadelphia, Pa, assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed Sept. 16, 1968, Ser. No. 759,933 Int. Cl. F41f 5/02 U.S. Cl. 891.5 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A single hook bomb rack including a streamlined housing, fixed and adjustable sway braces and a sear pivotally mounted at one end for releasably engaging an arm which extends from a pivotally mounted bomb hook and which subjects the sear to tension along its length. A pivotallymounted, solenoid-actuated latch is arranged to restrain the sear from pivoting to release the bomb hook arm. The latch includes a normally projecting camming member engageable with a finger extending transversely from the latchable end of the sear for engaging first the finger and then the sear itself to cam the sear in a direction to release the hook arm and allow a depending store to drop. A single sway brace adjusting means projects behind the aft end of the streamlined rack housing.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention generally relates to bomb racks, and more particularly to single-hook bomb racks of a lightweight uncomplicated construction which is able to withstand extreme shock force and high G force loading.

Known aircraft bomb racks generally include bell cranks, bars or collapsible toggle links which are subjected to compression when the rack is loaded and, therefore, require sufficient size and thickness to resist deformation. The force required to operate known racks is excessive particularly for small stores having weights on the order to 5 to 100 pounds. Additionally, known bomb racks are subject to failure by reason of the formation of ice and the accumulation of dirt and are subject to failure by reason of both high G force loading during flight maneuvers and extreme shock force loadings as during catapult launchings and arrested landings. Ice can retard the time of release which may be critical or prevent rack operation entirely.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the general purpose of this invention to provide a single hook bomb rack of greatly simplified, inexpensive and lighter weight construction which is particularly well suited for quickly releasing stores in spite of ice formation and which is able to withstand high G force and extreme shock force loading while safely and securely supporting a store. Briefly, this is accomplished by providing a sear pivotally mounted at one end, which is adapted to releasably engage intermediate its ends a pivotally mounted bomb hook lever arm and which is subjected to tension by the arm when the hook is loaded and by providing a pivotally mounted, solenoid-actuated latch adapted to releasably retain the free end of the sear and having an obliquely extended camming member engageable to cam a finger projecting from the free end of the sear for enabling quick releasement in spite of ice formation. The invention further contemplates the provision of a rack having means for adjusting a sway brace which means is positioned to reduce air turbulence and drag.

3,494,248 Patented Feb. 10, 1970 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the rack, which may be made of stainless steel and is generally designated 10, includes an elongated, aerodynamically streamlined housing 11 whose lateral periphery includes a plurality of bolt holes 12 arranged adjacent the upper edge thereof to facilitate bolting the rack 10 to a suitably configured boss (not shown) receivable to close the housing 11 and depending from a rack-supporting frame (not shown) attached to an aircraft (not shown). The rack 10 further includes a fixed away brace 13 having a flanged end bolted to the forward portion of a base plate 14 which is fixed to and closes the bottom of the housing 11 of the rack 10. More particularly, the brace 13 includes a concave aperture 13a shaped to receive and engage the circular periphery of a bomb or store 15 having a projecting lug 16 attached to the rack 10. The rack 10 further includes an adjustable sway brace 17, hereinafter more fully described, which is vertically adjusted by turning a key 18 connected to a longitudinally extending, rotatable adjusting shaft 19 protruding from the aft end of the streamlined housing 11 in a position minimizing turbulence.

More particularly, as shown in FIG. 2, the rack 10 includes a release mechanism 20 supported by parallel side plates 21 and 22 fixed to and extending transversely of the base plate 14 and longitudinally of the housing 11 on respective sides of an elongated hook aperture 14a through Which protrudes a forward extending, store lug engaging portion 23 of a pivotally mounted bomb hook 24. Externally projecting, longitudinally spaced extensions 25 and 26 of each of the plates 21 and 22 limit forward and aft excursions of the hook secured lug 16, facilitate withdrawal of the portion 23 from the lug 16 to release the store 15, and form guides for the lug 16 when the rack 10 is being loaded. The hook 24 has an upwardly projecting lever arm 27 extending along an axis L is positioned between the spaced-apart side plates 21 and 22 and is fixed to a transversely extending bar 28 of hexagonal cross section, in turn, carried for pivotal movement by bearings 29 mounted rotatably on the plates 21 and 22. The store engaging portion 23 of the hook 24 protrudes through the aperture 14a and is arranged eccentrically relative to the axis of pivotal movement extending longitudinally of the bar 28 so that the hook 24 is urged by the moment applied by the weight of the depending store 15 to pivot in a counterclockwise direction tending, as shown in FIG. 2, to release the store 15. A tensioned coil spring 30 is attached between the middle of the arm 27 and the base plate 14 to urge the hook 24 to pivot in the store-releasing direction.

The release mechanism 20 includes a bifurcated sear 31 pivotally connected to and between the plates 21 and 22 by a pin 32 extending transversely through its bifurcated end. The bifurcations of the sear 31 form a longitudinally extending slot 31a formed for receiving the extended end of the arm 27 and within which and adjacent the inner terminus of which a roller bearing 34 is mounted rotatably along the longitudinal sear axis L The longitudinal axes L and L of the arm 27 and the sear 31 are normally arranged in a hook-locking posi tion, i.e. substantially orthogonally oriented, so that the free end of the arm 27 engages and is restrained from further pivotal movement in the counterclockwise or store-releasing direction by the roller bearing 34 at point of engagement lying generally on the horizontally arranged longitudinal axis L of the sear 31. The hook adjacent edge of the free end of the sear 31 is beveled as at 35 and has a finger 36 downwardly projecting therefrom normally of the axis L and inwardly of but close to the free end of the sear 31. A conventional torsion spring 37 carried by the pin 32 between the bifurcations of the sear 31 has its projecting members arranged to engage pins 38 and 39 carried respectively by the sear 31 and the plates 21 and 22. The spring 37 normally urges the sear 31 to pivot in a counterclockwise direction toward the hook-locking position.

The release mechanism also includes an elongated, bifurcated sear latch 42 pivotally mounted intermediate its ends 43 and 44 between the plates 21 and 22 by a pin 45. The bifurcated end 43 of the latch 42 receives the beveled free end of the sear 31 and includes adjacent its terminus a rotatably mounted roller bearing 46 whose function is to retain the free end of the sear 31 in the hook-locking position. Thus, the latch 42 can be arranged in a sear-locking or sear-entrapping position wherein its longitudinal axis L is generally aligned in parallel with the axis L of the arm 27 and perpendicularly of the axis L of the sear 31. A slight clearance between the sear 31 and the bearing 46 is not objectionable in that the sear 31 does not load the latch 42 when the hook 24 is loaded and may be desirable to assure that the latch 42 will not jam when pivoted to cause sear pivotal movement and store releasement.

An integrally formed camming plate 47 projects generally perpendicularly of the longitudinal axis L of the latch 42 from the pin engaged portion thereof toward the hook arm 27 and the bevel of the sear 31 and forms a seat for the extended end of the finger 36 when the latch 42 is arranged in sear-entrapping position. A torsion spring 50, which is carried by the pin 45 and which has its projecting ends arranged to engage pins 51 and 52 respectively carried by the plates 21 and 22 and by the latch 42, normally urges the latch 42 to pivotally move to the sear-locking position.

The release mechanism 20 also includes a solenoid 60 having one end mounted to an upwardly projecting plate 61 fixed to the base plate 14 and having a plunger 62 which extends generally longitudinally of the housing 11 and coaxially through the solenoid 60. The plunger 62 is sufliciently long so that one end 63 protrudes through an aperture 64 formed in the forward end of the housing 11 and the other larger diametered end 65 is engaged by the end 44 of the latch 42 arranged in sear-entrapping position by the spring 50. The end 65 of the plunger 62 is of a larger diameter than the solenoid received-portion of the plunger 62 so that the plate 61 functions as a stop to assure that the axis L of the latch 42 is substantially vertically aligned to arrange the latch 42 in searentrapping position. Depressing the protruding end 63 of the plunger 62 or electrical actuation of the solenoid 60 causes counterclockwise pivotal movement of the latch 42, in turn, causing pivoting of the sear 31 in a hook-releasing direction. First, from the position shown in FIG. 4a the finger 36 is cammed upwardly while the roller bearing 46 is pivoted from its position restraining unlocking movement of the sear 31 as shown in FIG. 4b. Thereafter, the beveled end of the sear 31 is engaged and cammed upwardly by the free end of the camming plate 47 lifting the finger 36 off the plate 47 and pivoting the sear 31 to the hook-releasing position wherein the arm 27 is free to pivot beneath the uplifted roller bearing 34 as shown in FIG. 40. The high mechanical advantage which is developed through the finger 36 enables the breaking of any ice. Thereafter, the mechanical advantage is reduced as the end of the plate 47 directly earns the sear 31 with sufficient excursion to quickly facilitate releasing the arm 27.

A better understanding of the operation of the release mechanism 20 of the rack 10 and certain critical dimensional relationships of its components may be obtained by referring to FIG. 4a. The latch 42 and its camming plate 47 have some critical dimension relative to the sear 31 in order to facilitate the operation of the device even though ice has formed which could inhibit easy operation of the release mechanism 20. For example, the distance A from the axis of the pin 45 along the end 44 to the point of engagement by the plunger 62 is greater than the distance B from the axis of the pin 45 to the sear adjacent periphery of the roller bearing 46. Additionally, the distance B is greater than the distance C from the axis of the pin 45 along the plate 47 to its point of engagement with the finger 36 when the latch 42 is arranged in sear-entrapping position. The distance A is greater than the distance D from the axis of the pin 45 to the extended end of the camming plate 47 which is pivotable to engage the beveled face 35 of the sear 31 and cam the sear 31 to the hook-releasing position. The distance A should be much greater than the distance C in order to develop a high mechanical advantage for applying the force generated by the solenoid 60 in order that the moment applied through the finger 36 to the sear 31 be sufficient to break any ice which may have formed particularly adjacent the pin 32 and also between the sear 31 and the plates 21 and 22. The distance B is greater than the distance C so that the sear engaging roller bearing 46 tends to move more rapidly than the finger engaged portion of the camming plate 47 to assure that the latch 42 does not jam, preventing releasement of the sear 31. The length D is great enough so that the sear 31 can be cammed upwardly to the hook-releasing position wherein the extended end of the arm 27 is enabled to pivot under the roller bearing 34 to release the store 15. For example, one satisfactory set of relative dimensions is that C equal one unit, A equal four and a half units, B equal one and two-thirds units, and D equal three units. The above dimensional relationship assures that the sear 31 will first be cammed by the plate 47 through the finger 36 with sufficient force to break any ice which may have been formed and thereafter permit direct camming of the beveled sear by the extended end of the plate 47 a sufiicient degree enabling rapid pivotal movement of the sear 31 against the action of the torsion spring 37 to the hook-releasing position.

It is also important that the length of the sear 31 be such that the free end lies substantially on the axis L of the latch 42 when arranged in locking position and that the extended end of the arm 27 lie substantially adjacent the axis L of the sear 31. This configuration helps to assure that the store 15 will not be released under high G force or extreme shock force loading and that a solenoid of relatively low power, such as five pounds, can be used to actuate the release mechanism 20. If the sear 31 is too long, the latch 42 will jam. The sear 31 may be required to make a pivotal excursion of unnecessary degree, if the arm 27 extends too far above the axis L requiring an unnecessarily long plunger excursion. In the other hand, if the arm 27 terminates below the axis L vertical force components will be applied to the sear 31 through the roller bearing 34 causing the sear 31 to tend to release the hook 24 under extreme shock force or high G force conditions.

Further, it is preferred the axes L and L be substantially parallel and be arranged substantially perpendicularly of the axis L when the release mechanism 20 is in hook-locking position. In this way, the loading imposed by the hook 24 on the sear 31 is directed to the roller bearing 34 in a direction lying substantially coincident with the axis L of the sear 31 so that the sear 31 does not tend to be pivoted and so that the latch 42 is not loaded. Thereby no vertical force components can be transmitted to the sear 31 which might cause the mechanism 20 to release. The scar 31 may have less mass than that required in known bomb racks because the sear 31 is subjected to tensioning forces rather than to compressing and/or shearing forces when the rack is loaded. Since the sear 31 and latch 42 require less material for a given set of dimensions, the mass and, therefore, the respective moments of inertia are less enabling the use of an actuating solenoid of greatly reduced power.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the adjustable sway brace 17 includes a bracket 70 which is secured to the base plate 14 and which has a pair of longitudinally spaced shaft bearings 71 and 72 for supporting the key-carrying adjusting shaft 19 protruding through a shaft bearing 73 in the aft end of the housing 11. The shaft 19 carries a worm gear 74 fixed thereto intermediate the bearings 71 and 72. A circular gear segment 75 is pivotally connected by a pin 76 to the bracket 70 in driven engagement with the worm gear 74. A connecting shaft 77 is pivotally connected to the segment 75 in spaced relation to the pin 76 and extends through an aperture 78 formed in the base plate 14. Externally of the housing 11, a bifurcated brace 80 having spaced apart, store-engaging pads 81 is pivotally connected to the shaft 77. The aperture 78 is sized and the gear segment 75 is arranged so that the shaft 77 may incline slightly from a vertically arranged position in both its fully withdrawn and fully extended positions.

In loading the store 15, the shaft 77 is fully Withdrawn by adjusting the key 18 and the solenoid plunger 62 is depressed, if necessary, to release the hook 24 to its load-releasing position under the action of the spring 30. The store-attached lug 16 is positioned for engagement with the portion 23 of the hook 24. The release mechanism 20 is cocked by turning either of two keys 90 positioned externally of the housing 11 and rigidly fixed to the ends of the rotatably mounted bar 28. The torsion springs 37 and 50 pivot the sear 31 and the latch 42 to their hook-locking and sear-entrapping positions, as the arm 27 is returned to its substantially vertically aligned orientation wherein the hook 24 is in store-retaining position. The worm gear 74 when turned by the shaft 19 drives the shaft 77 and the brace pads 81 into engagement with the depending store forcing it to pivot on the hook portion 23 and securely engages the fixed bracket 13.

The invention, therefore, provides a bomb rack 10 of enhanced ability for safely securing a store under high G force and extreme shock force conditions. The rack 10 provided by the invention is more reliable in that the formation of ice does not impair its ability to quickly release a store upon command. The simplified construction and the reductions in weight and complexity of the rack components provide a less expensive bomb rack. The adjustable sway brace 17 includes an adjusting key 18 which is positioned to project behind the aft end of the streamlined housing 11 and thereby lessens the turbulence and drag created by conventional sway brace adjusting means and simplifies and reduces the degree and complexity of the required adjustment to support stores of different sizes and configurations.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relates only to a preferred embodiment of the invention and that numerous modifications or alterations may be made.

What is claimed is:

1. A bomb rack comprising:

supporting means;

a hook member including a lever arm and pivotally connected to said support means, said hook member tending to pivot in a predetermined direction when under load;

an elongated sear pivotally connected at one of its ends to said support means and including intermediate its ends lever arm engaging means, said sear being pivotally movable between a hook-releasing position wherein said engaging means is disengaged from said lever arm to a hook-locking position wherein said sear is subjected to longitudinally aligned tension by said lever arm;

an elongated latch pivotally connected intermediate its ends to said support means and having arranged at one end thereof sear entrapping means formed for releasably entrapping in a sear-entrapping position the free end of said sear to retain said sear in said hook locking position and including transversely projecting therefrom toward said sear a cantilevered camming member for camming said sear to said hookreleasing position in response to actuation of said latch by said plunger;

actuating means including a plunger movable to engage and pivot the other end of said latch to a sear-releasing position enabling pivotal movement of said sear to said hook-releasing position; and

said hook member, said scar and said latch are arranged for coplanar pivotal movement.

2. A rack according to claim 1 wherein:

a first axis of said sear extending between the pivotal connection point thereof and said lever arm engaging means is perpendicularly oriented relative to a second axis of said hook member extending along said lever arm and relative to a third axis of said latch extending between the pivotal connection point thereof and said sear entrapping means when said sear and said latch are arranged in said hook-locking and searentrapping positions.

3. A rack according to claim 2 wherein:

an extending end of said lever arm extends at least to a position adjacent said first axis of said sear arranged in said hook-locking position and engages said arm engaging means;

and said free end of said sear entrapped by said sear entrapping means extends to a position adjacent said third axis of said latch in sear-entrapping position.

4. A rack according to claim 3 wherein:

said sear entrapping means and said lever arm engaging means each comprise roller bearings connected rotatably respectively to said sear and said latch.

5. A rack according to claim 1 wherein:

said sear includes a finger member projecting transversely of said sear and adjacent said free end thereof for camming engagement by said camming member projecting from said latch.

6. A rack according to claim 5 wherein:

said camming member includes an extended sear camming end positioned in spaced relation to said sear when said sear is in said hook-locking position; and

said finger projecting from said sear engages said camming member inwardly of said end when said sear is in said hook-locking position.

7. A rack according to claim 6 wherein:

said camming member projects from a portion of said latch adjacent the pivotal connection point of said latch; and

said finger and said camming member have relative lengths and orientations enabling camming engagement of said finger by said camming member when said sear is arranged in said hook-locking position and a spaced relationship therebetween when said sear is pivoted to said hook-releasing position by said extended end of said camming member thereby effecting an abrupt reduction in the system mechanical advantage at some time during pivotal movement of said latch.

8. A rack according to claim 7 wherein:

a first distance between the said latch pivotal connection point and the point of engagement of said latch by said plunger is greater than a second distance between said pivotal connection point and said sear camming end of camming member, said first and second distances being greater than a third distance between said pivotal connection point and the position of engagement of said finger with said camming member when said sear is arranged in said hook-locking position.

9. A rack according to claim 8 wherein:

a fourth distance between said sear entrapping means and said pivotal connection point is greater than said third distance.

10. A rack according to claim 6 wherein said support means includes:

an elongated, streamlined hollow housing;

a base plate connected to and closing a bottom portion of said housing and having formed therethrough a hook aperture and a shaft aperture spaced aft of said hook aperture, said hook member partially protruding externally of said housing through said hook aperture;

a fixed sway brace connected to said base plate externally of said housing forward of said hook aperture; and adjustable sway brace connected to said base plate externally of said housing and aft of said hook aperture, said adjustable sway brace including a movable connecting shaft protruding through said shaft aperture of said base plate, store engageable means pivotally connected to the protruding end of said shaft, and shaft driving means connected to said shaft, positioned within said housing and having an adjusting member protruding through the aft end of said housing for regulating the excursion of said shaft.

11. A rack according to claim 10 wherein:

said sear comprises a bifurcated member having bifurcations spaced apart for receiving therebetween said lever arm and being pivotally connected to said support means adjacent the ends of said sear bifurcations;

said lever arm engaging means comprises a roller bearing mounted rotatably between said bifurcations inwardly of said ends of said bifurcations;

said latch comprises a bifurcated member having bifurcations spaced for receiving therebetween said free end of said sear and having said camming member fixed to and projecting therefrom; and

said sear entrapping means comprises a roller bearing mounted rotatably between said latch bifurcations adjacent the ends thereof.

12. A rack according to claim 11 wherein:

said support means further comprises a parallel pair of longitudinally aligned plates positioned within said housing and connected to said base plate on opposite sides of said hook aperture, said latch and said sear being positioned between and pivotally connected to said plates, a bar rotatably connected to said plates and connected to said hook member, said bar extending transversely of said plates and protruding through said housing and a cocking key member fixed externally of and closely adjacent said housing to a protruding end of said bar; and

said rack further comprises spring means connected to said plates for biasing said sear to said hook-locking position and for biasing said latch to said searentrapping position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,344,211 3/1944 Markey 89l.5 2,49l,400 12/1949 Thumim 89-15 3,057,652 10/1962 Geffner 89l.5 X

FOREIGN PATENTS 678,917 1/1930 France. 713,886 8/1931 France.

SAMUEL W. ENGLE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 244l37; 29483 

